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POTPOURRI One weekend I was working with some of the Golden crowd on advancing their young dogs and getting some older dogs ready for an upcoming WC/WCX test. While working with one dog on multiple marks, it became apparent that the dog had a problem on the line and when returning with the bird. When a problem which needs a correction occurs, it is important to forget the test and concentrate on the problem. An example of this would be if you are having trouble with a dog taking a cast on a blind, it is more important to work with the dog to take that cast than to complete the blind. If after refusing to take the cast, the dog then submits and takes it, let him roll with that for a while. Don’t immediately stop the dog and put him back on line. If this is a recurring problem, you can put out “escape” blinds so that you can send the dog to another blind so he is rewarded for submitting to the cast you have given. Some persons become so enamored with doing the blind that they forget they are training, not trialing. This also occurs on marks, for example, a dog will not take the cover on the last bird down on a double or wants to cheat the water. Forget completing the double, and work on the dog with regard to taking the cover or taking a line through the water. Once the dog understands what you want, you can later go on to do the double. When trying to correct a problem, it generally means breaking down the concept into do-able portions. Simplify the problem and explain it to the dog. Teach, teach, and then teach some more until you are sure your dog understands what you are asking it to do. It is very unfair, and generally becomes self-defeating, if you correct your dog for something it does not know or understand. If the problem is due to a hole in your basics, it can mean returning to the yard and working on this before going into the field. The dog that was having problems on the line needed more basic obedience work. Have your dog working extremely well in the yard before trying it in the field. Always be consistent in what you ask of your dog and in your method of asking. The same principle works for both field and obedience. The local obedience club has classes on weekends at a park. I used to go work my dogs around the perimeters for proofing. One Saturday I was watching the Open class and saw the vast majority of the dogs having a problem with the retrieve over the high jump. The problem was that none of the dogs had a solid retrieve on the flat, but, because the class called for retrieve over the high jump to be taught on that Saturday, all the handlers were having their dogs do it. I assumed the trainer would point out to the handlers that their dogs were not solid on the retrieve on the flat let alone the retrieve over the high jumps. This did not happen. They kept working on the retrieve over the high jump instead of forgetting the schedule and concentrating on the real problem. The end result was that many of the dogs that had started out as confident jumpers developed problems with the high jump as well as the retrieve on the flat. Persons often are unwilling to drop back in order to move forward more effectively. Sometimes a Band-Aid will cover the problem for a short period of time, but if your basics are not solid, you will pay for it, and often dearly, somewhere down the line. Do not hesitate to recognize that there is a problem. Analyze the problem and resolve to solve it rather than making an excuse for the problem. Do not be afraid to step back, simplify, and work on getting everything solid whenever you run into a problem with your dog. |
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